The invention is designed for measuring and cutting gypsum board, commonly known as sheetrock. Sheetrock is sold in standard sizes, generally four feet wide by eight feet long. When installing sheetrock on the walls and ceiling of a building, it is often necessary to cut off a strip of uniform width from a standard sheet in order to fit the sheetrock properly into a particular space. At all times when installing sheetrock the uncut edge (known as the factory edge) must line up with other factory edges for seam finishing. Because sheetrock is heavy, it is awkward to turn the sheet around or flip it over so that the edges line up. Therefore the sheetrock must be cut to fit. Sheetrock is usually cut while it is standing on one of its eight foot long edges. The method currently used for doing this is to place the reel of a tape measure at the top edge of the sheet of sheetrock, extend the tape measure down to the desired width (for example, if a three foot wide piece is needed, the installer measures down one foot from the top edge so that the piece left over after cutting will be three feet wide and have the factory edge facing in the proper direction), mark each side of the board, pop a chalk line, cut or score a line freehand or using a straight edge. The sheetrock is then cut along the marked line with a utility knife. This method is time-consuming, and inaccurate measurements can result if the reel slips off the edge of the sheetrock or if the tape measure kinks or bends during measurement.
An advantage of the invention is that it has a wide edge guide to prevent slipping while moving smoothly and parallel along the edge of the sheet.
Another advantage is that the invention has an extra wide tape measure for precision and stability while making cuts.
Another advantage is that the tape measure can be read in either direction, allowing accurate measurement while avoiding the need to measure up from the bottom.
Another advantage is that the invention has a tip at the end of the tape measure which can be used to hold a common razor knife against it for making cuts. No specially made blades are needed in order to use the invention.